Danielle Ethington’s three sons and two of their best friends were on their way to a multi-faith Valentine’s Day dance on Feb. 13 when their car was hit at 201st Street and U.S. 75 in Glenpool.
All five survived. Eight months later, the Sapulpa family still faces surgeries, therapy and bills, and the criminal case against the driver ended without a trial after her death.
“Honestly, our only answer for that is God. He preserved them for whatever reason that night,” Ethington said.
Her sons Alex, Isaac and Joshua were 17, 16 and 14 at the time. Also in the Toyota Prius were Conor and Emma Morrison, the children of Ethington’s best friend, Katy Morrison.
A Glenpool Police Department report says the Prius had stopped at a stop sign on 201st and began crossing the highway about 3.2 seconds before the crash. Crash data showed the Ford Explorer that hit it traveling 107.5 mph five seconds before impact and 98.8 mph half a second before, with no braking, Detective Cpl. Taylor Mitchell wrote.
Alex was driving, on the side that was hit, and was pinned inside. Joshua called home and said he thought Alex, who was unresponsive and bleeding from his nose, ears and mouth, was dead, Ethington said.
“So we went there thinking that we’d lost a kid,” she said.
Alex, now 18, does not remember the crash. He suffered a minor traumatic brain injury and still has occasional headaches and memory issues, his mother said. He has had three surgeries: on his wrist; on his shoulder, which needed six anchor points and a bumper to keep it from dislocating; and on his left hip. The September hip surgery alone cost $73,000, which insurance covered. His wrist did not heal properly and needs another operation, as do his right hip and right knee.
Colleges are looking at Alex, a state and national esports champion, for a scholarship, his mother said. The boys still made it to state in the video game Overwatch as the first homeschool team, she said in a text message.
Isaac, who sat behind his brother, suffered a complete pelvic fracture and spent nine days at Saint Francis Children’s Hospital, where surgeons put a plate and screws in his pelvis. Isaac was so convinced his brother had died that the family brought Alex to his room to prove otherwise, Ethington said in a text message. He still can’t walk long distances and has a permanent handicap placard, she said.
“So we were basically told to expect he’ll never walk normal again, always be in pain. I don’t accept that,” Ethington said.
Isaac, now 17, had wanted to become a K9 police officer. “It’s been a goal of his for years, but he’s not going to be able to,” his mother said.
Joshua, who sat in the middle of the back seat, suffered two pelvic fractures and a fractured L5 vertebra. He did not need surgery, recently finished physical therapy and may still be able to become a police officer, his mother said.
Mitchell cited the Explorer’s speeds and a benzodiazepine in the driver’s system that he could not account for through her medical records. She told him she took pain medication as needed for an earlier injury but had not taken any that day, the report says.
On March 31, Tulsa County prosecutors charged the driver, Nichole Marie Hays, with driving under the influence causing great bodily injury, a felony, and reckless driving, court records show. She was arrested June 14 in Okmulgee County, Glenpool police said, as KTUL reported. She pleaded not guilty.
Her preliminary hearing was set for Oct. 13. Ethington said the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office had subpoenaed all five teens.
Hays, 42, died Oct. 8, according to her obituary. Both charges were dismissed Oct. 19 at the state’s request because she had died, court records show. She was never convicted.
The boys had hoped to speak at the hearing, Ethington said, “to let her know that they forgave her, but also just to express how she’s affected their lives.”
“Mostly my boys just want her family to know that they forgave her,” she said. “They’re better humans than I am. They’ve been forgiving from the very, very moment that that happened.”
Hays carried only minimum liability insurance, and her insurer offered $50,000 for all of the teens’ injuries and won’t replace the car, Ethington said. The families sued Hays in April, alleging negligence, and are unsure whether the case can continue.
“I haven’t allowed myself to crack and break down because I’m worried if I do, it’ll break me,” Ethington said.
For some of the boys, she said, “there might not be another side, except for getting as healed as we can.”
A GoFundMe has been set up for the family.